COUNSELING DEALING WITH MINORS

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Counseling Dealing with Minors

Abstract

In this study, we try to explore the concept of “Counseling with Minors” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on counseling with minors and its ethical and legal aspects. The research also analyzes ethical and legal aspects regarding counseling and tries to gauge its effect on minors. Finally, the research describes various factors which are responsible for counseling and tries to describe the overall ethical and legal aspects of counseling dealing with minors. Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Method Participants4

Instrumentation5

Procedures6

Results7

Discussion11

Conclusion11

References13

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Counseling Dealing with Minors

Introduction

The study of ethical and legal issues is mandated in the counseling profession. An ethical and legal aspect of counseling is a required criterion to meet the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs standards (CACREP, 2009). State licensure boards also require this class to fulfill licensure requirements. A certain number of continuous education units (CEUs) on ethical and legal issues are mandated for license renewal in some states.

There is a lack of agreement in the literature regarding confidentiality when counseling minors, specifically when sharing information with parents is concerned. Hendrix (1991) pointed out that confidentiality exists for the benefit of the client even though he or she may be a minor. The majority of the literature seems to show that minors have the same confidentiality rights as adults. Because the ACA Code of Ethics permits involving parents or guardians in the counseling process, the counselor must practice with exceedingly professional expertise when disclosing confidential information.

Clark (2007) warned that although the legal right may belong to the parents or guardian, there is an ethical responsibility to obtain the minor's permission before releasing information. Before the information is released, the counselor should include the minor in the decision to release information to parents or guardians, and continual communications concerning further decisions are discussed with the minor. For counseling to be effective and provide an environment in which the client feels free to share concerns, the counselor must be able to assure minor clients that personal information will be kept confidential. Clark (2007) further concluded that this is especially significant with counseling children who may have experienced untrustworthy adults sharing other confidences previously.

In addition, because the majority of minors with whom counselors work are minors, school counselors face an additional burden. Parents' right to know can often conflict with a fundamental tenet of counseling: the opportunity for clients to have a confidential relationship. The net result is that school counselors are making decisions based on legal and ethical standards that are not always clear and precise in pointing to the correct decision. Because codes and laws are not always precise and ethical codes tend to reflect what most professionals can agree on rather than ideal counseling practices (Kitchener, 1984), counselors need to learn to engage in ethical decision making. A further complicating factor is that in some situations no one behavior seems entirely ethical (Post, ...